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Iraqi Kurd Leader Seeks Right to Self-Determination | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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File picture dated November 8, 2010 shows Kurdish regional president Massud Barzani speaking to the press in the northern city of Arbil. (AFP)


File picture dated November 8, 2010 shows Kurdish regional president Massud Barzani speaking to the press in the northern city of Arbil. (AFP)

File picture dated November 8, 2010 shows Kurdish regional president Massud Barzani speaking to the press in the northern city of Arbil. (AFP)

ARBIL, (AFP) — Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani called on Saturday for the right to self-determination for the northern Iraqi region, a move that could lead to a break-up of the country.

His remarks come as Prime Minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki attempts to form a cabinet, with Barzani’s bloc expected to obtain several ministries, and the Kurdistan region mired in disputes with the Baghdad government over land and oil.

Speaking at a congress of his Kurdistan Democratic Party, Barzani said “the issue of self-determination,” which was considered “a right,” would be presented to those attending the conference “to be studied and discussed.”

His comments mark the first time Barzani has officially presented the issue to the KDP’s congress, with the proposal set to be voted on during the week-long meeting that opened on Saturday.

The audience included President Jalal Talabani, a fellow Kurd; Maliki; parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi and Iyad Allawi, whose Iraqiya bloc won the most seats in March elections.

The first gathering of its kind since 1999 is to see more than 1,000 delegates elect around 50 new members to the KDP’s top leadership committee.

Maliki, who was awarded the premiership on November 25, has two more weeks in which to form a cabinet. Iraq has been without a new government since elections in March.

The KDP is a key member of Maliki’s governing coalition, and the Kurdish leader played a major role in bringing Iraq’s divided political factions together to agree a power-sharing deal.

The party, which is part of a joint slate with Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, controls a substantial majority of seats in the Kurdish parliament and jointly holds 43 seats in Baghdad’s assembly with the PUK.

Iraq’s Kurdish north, made up of three provinces, exerts control over all areas of policy except for national defence and foreign affairs.

It is currently in dispute with Baghdad over two main issues: a land dispute centred on the ethnically mixed oil-rich city of Kirkuk and the distribution of revenues from the region’s energy reserves.

Arbil claims Kirkuk and parts of three neighbouring provinces and has signed its own deals with international energy firms without consulting Baghdad, both of which central government authorities contest.

On the subject of Kirkuk, Barzani pointedly told the audience that “when it returns to the region … we will make Kirkuk an example of coexistence, forgiveness and joint administration, but we cannot bargain on its identity.”

The region first attained a modicum of autonomy in 1974, but Barzani’s father and then-leader of the KDP, Mulla Mustafa Barzani, returned to war with the Baghdad government rather than accept that limited autonomy.

Kurdistan won greater freedom after the 1991 Gulf War, but Barzani and Talabani, the region’s other dominant political leader, waged war for control of smuggling routes that provided valuable tariff revenue while dictator Saddam Hussein was still in power.

A power-sharing deal was eventually struck between their two blocs and today, Barzani is seen as the dominant part of the pair.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) speaks to Kurdish leader Massud Barzani during a congress of the latter's Kurdistan Democratic Party in the northern city of Arbil on December 11, 2010. (AFP)

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) speaks to Kurdish leader Massud Barzani during a congress of the latter’s Kurdistan Democratic Party in the northern city of Arbil on December 11, 2010. (AFP)

Iraqi Kurdish attend the 13th Conference of Kurdistan Democratic Party in Arbil, December 11, 2010. (Reuters)

Iraqi Kurdish attend the 13th Conference of Kurdistan Democratic Party in Arbil, December 11, 2010. (Reuters)